News24 reports that staff shortages have forced the Eastern Cape Department of Health to almost halve the number of state ambulances on the road.  

The province has 447 ambulances – just over half the number that national standards apparently require.  But presently, less than 250 of those vehicles are actually on the road, according to the Eastern Cape's latest annual report.  The document says that routine maintenance and a shortage of emergency medical workers are to blame for the cuts.  With fewer operational ambulances, the department says it has eliminated dangerous "one-man ambulance crews" – a term used to describe vehicles staffed only by a driver.  Internationally, it is an invariable rule that emergency response teams must have at least two members.  In the last five years, only 30 paramedics have graduated with a degree in emergency medical care from Nelson Mandela University, the only college to offer paramedic training in the province.  Since 2016, the health department's EMS training college has also produced 150 trained ambulance assistants.  Provincial emergency medical staff are also dissatisfied about working conditions – including pay – and have engaged in periodic strikes since mid-January.  The Eastern Cape health department spends about 5% of its total budget on emergency medical services.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Joan van Dyk at News24

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